Confessions from a CFA Addict

Alright, I’ve tried pushing my fail of the L2 behind me and focus on next year but as the weather changes I know I have to get started again. I’ve been getting this knotting feeling in my stomach and a total since of denial that I failed the exam. I keep imaging what it would have felt like to see a “PASS” on that CFA webpage, the feeling of exuberation and success. I know its pathetic but I even sign back into the website to see if they might have changed my score. Who knows, maybe my fail was a mistake? But in the end my FAIL is still their staring at me, a constant reminder that I didn’t know quite enough, didn’t study quite enough, wasn’t quite smart enough. I am a wreck just thinking about all the time I put into this exam and the fact that it was not good enough. I feel embarrassment at work, with friends and overall I am fighting with the realization that I am not as smart as I once thought I was. This failure has been one of the most morally destructive events in my life. Its so hard for others to relate. They say, “its just a test man!” but its not just a test, this has been my life for 5 months and even then it was not enough. That doesn’t even include all the horrors I faced during L1! I don’t know how to deal with it and put it in perspective. I am emotionally drained by this thing…D@mn you CFA! Now that I must start all over again I find that I am now motivated not by the benefits of the CFA charter but by my hate. I hate that it consumed my life and gave me nothing. I hate that it cost me thousands of dollars and still demands more money only for another chance to fail again. I hate that it takes and takes and takes. Now I study because I want to defeat it, I want to beat it because I hate it. I want to show it that in the end, no matter how hard it tries to ruin me I will destroy it in the end. YOU HEAR ME L2! I’M COMING FOR YOU AND I WANT TO RIP OUT YOUR HEART AND FEEL IT BEATING IN MY HAND!!!

I feel the same. And I got over 70% in economics, FSA, equity analysis & fixed income analysis … that make you mad, and drives you crazy to pass What about you? What were your scores? Where are you?

olivier Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I feel the same. And I got over 70% in economics, > FSA, equity analysis & fixed income analysis … > that make you mad, and drives you crazy to pass > > What about you? > What were your scores? Where are you? are you saying you failed wit those scores??

AFJunkie, what’s it like being of average intelligence? I’ve often pondered…j/k man…anyways, yeah, I think that everyone here is motivated by the duality of loving to pass and hating to fail (although you might’ve taken it up a notch or two, same basic premise). That being said, I’m fairly shocked by the industriousness that some have displayed by being almost halfway through the curriculum - they set a high standard for the slackers of the world (myself included)…

Oliver- Half of the weight of my exam was over 70% with the other half between 50-70%. :frowning:

I’m here for you and will try to do whatever I can so you can eat its liver.

JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m here for you and will try to do whatever I can > so you can eat its liver. Which would pair very well with some fava beans and a nice chianti… AFJunkie, same deal, I’m out for blood this time around and will be finishing CFAI Volume 1 today. I found that after I got back into the swing of studying again that my immense disappointment from August began subsiding, now I’m in good shape. So, begin moving forward and hopefully we’ll be celebrating next August.

Junkie: You are wrong when you said you gave and it gave you nothing in return. Think about what you learned last time around and how much quicker the temporal and all current methods are going to come to you this time. The “H” model will be a 15 review and memorization exercise this time. DCF? You got it. Multiple regression? A whole lot easier. Turn obstacles into opportunities. Turn hate into results. I feel your pain and it is now personal. Stick around here and we will all party next summer.

hate leads to the dark side…

70er Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hate leads to the dark side… Dude, I was just about to post the whole… “Fear is the path to the dark side: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suff er ing” **Edit: But you beat me to it. So I will have to settle for “Foreplay, cuddling - a Jedi craves not these things”

I’m sharing the hate as well. Surprisingly enough I don’t see it as a failure at all. I still feel anyone could fail with those ridiculous questions. I’m crossing fingers for more sanity next june. On the bright side, somewhat happy to hit the books…I feel like I’m getting dumber by the day :). Regression and current vs temporal will be a piece of cake this time around.

JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m here for you and will try to do whatever I can > so you can eat its liver. Joey - i was checking your file and…this is an offbeat question but…how the hell have you been able to make 6,854 posts since January of this year? thats like 24 posts a day straight for 10 months!

Jan '06. it’s a year and 10 months.

Dolomite Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Jan '06. it’s a year and 10 months. I’m fairly certain AF didn’t originally track the date and time of registration, and all existing accounts at the time this feature was added were simply stamped with: Saturday, January 7, 2006 at 12:12AM There’s simply too many AF accounts I’ve checked that “registered” on this date at this precise time, including my own, for this to be an actual reflection of registration timing. Joey’s a Charterholder and I think he’s been on this forum for a long time preceding 1/2006.

AFJunkie: great story and story telling - no wonder you’re in UofC. Bookmarked.

gz2nyc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > AFJunkie: great story and story telling - no > wonder you’re in UofC. Bookmarked. What do you mean Bookmarked?

AFJunkie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > JoeyDVivre Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I’m here for you and will try to do whatever I > can > > so you can eat its liver. > > > Joey - i was checking your file and…this is an > offbeat question but…how the hell have you been > able to make 6,854 posts since January of this > year? thats like 24 posts a day straight for 10 > months! Everyone has their problems… At least it’s more productive than a heroin addiction or something.

AFJunkie Wrote: > I will destroy it in the end. YOU HEAR ME L2! I’M > COMING FOR YOU AND I WANT TO RIP OUT YOUR HEART > AND FEEL IT BEATING IN MY HAND!!! I love this! I’m only just cracking the books now as I gear up for my first attempt at level II. I read your post and was reminded of the adrenaline I felt while crushing level I like a tiny bug in my clenched fist. Lacking access to eiither illegal stimulants or JB’s prodigious supply of Adderal, that rush is all I have going for me. Highly motivating in my opinion.

AFJunkie I feel you, I was a wreck when I saw that fail, the first fail ever in my life. I was such a wreck that my boss told to me take time off. I cried for two straight weeks until my cheekbones were aching, lost appetite and lost several kilos. So the fail affected me physically and emotionally. You need to get over it and move on, my friend drank himself silly then we met after the mourning period to restrategize. So I feel you, if this CFA thing was human, I would rip it apart with my bare hands and torture it till it takes its last breath. Question to all who failed, what is the best way to torture CFA? I badly need to get back to it. Thank God results are not delivered via snail mail coz I would have unleashed all my wrath on the poor mailman. So a part of me is reading to aveng this thing that dared to call me a failure and the other part is reading to gain the knowledge and eventually gain the charter But the bright side of failing is, it is easier reading. I took two weeks to finish the CFAI derivatives text. But this is the last time I am taking this test, there is no way I will put my life on hold. CFA might as well dig a hole and burry itself!

Having failed Level II and passing first time at Level III, I think this is character building. I hung my head many times over 2 months following the FAIL and after picking up the books again, I found the studying much more bearable and easier as it was review and I knew what stumped me before. In other words, I had more time to devote to friends, family and to balance my life. It makes the PASS next time that much sweeter and you appreciate it more. This is a time management challenge and ability to see/understand the macro view when looking at ridiculous formulas. And just saying that “CFAI will not beat me”.